The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1887-07-16

host, as one or two meteors in the midst
of the universe Of nature, might fail of
salvation. AS the gain is infinitely
great, so is the loss infinitely small.
So, little later, at district confer
ence, this general subject came up, and
to all considerations concerning the
scope of heaven he simply answered,
81 take no stock in little two by four
heaven. 1 tell you, it's bigger place
than we think, and there will be some
tremendous surprises when we get
there"
In sermon on the words, "Are there
few that be saved ?'' This view is ex-
pressed in his usual manner.
" In the second Colossians Paul
speaks of Christ, Having spoiled prin-.
cipalities and powers, he made a show
of them openly, triumphing over them
in it, Now it appears to me that if
the devil at last is to have more souls
than God, he will have done most of
the spoiling."
"We are not to confound the stand
ard of character which the Bible sets up
with the conditions of salvation as tests
of fitness for heaven which we find in
the Bible.'
"The Bible shows us what we may
become, what God wants us to be, what
he expects us to be, what he will help
us to be, at some period Of our exist
ence. And the Bible shows us how to
begin this work of spiritual develop
ment. That beginning is where we are
to look to find out a mans condition
with reference to the heavenly world.
The question is not whether an indi-
vidual is just such man in every re-
spect as the law Of God requires him to
be, but is he Christian ? And what's
a Christianp Now, some have way
of answering this question by enumer-
ating all the Christian virtues, all the
divine qualities, and making the stand
ard SO high as to exclude every one
hundredth Christian in the world. But
it's all mistake. A Christian is dis
ciple of Christ, one who believes in
Christ as the divinely appointed model
for mankind, and is endeavoring to
conform his character and life to the
teachings and example of Christ. He
may not belong to this or that church,
or to any church. He may not in every
respect come up to your ideas or mine.
He may even be weak and feeble and
halting. His life may be full of errors,
full of shortcomings. But if his faith
lays hold of Christ as the highest type
of manhood, as the connecting link be-
tween the soul and God; if his hope
goes out to heaven; if his desires turn
in the right direction of divine things
then that man is Christian, and if he
dies with such hopes and desires, and
in such faith, God will not exclude him
from heaven, even though he may fall
far short of measuring up to the high
standard of character which the Bible
reveals. He dies on the right road and
with his face in the right direction, and
he will be permitted to travel ON this
road after death as before"
"Its a mistake to suppose that death
works tremendous revolution in souls,
that an imperfect Christian is all at
once transformed into a perfect one,
and that every one will Immediately
step into tie full blaze of perfect knowl-
edge and perfect enjoyment"
"The Christian after death will re-
sumo that business Of loving and serv-
ing God, of making progress in divine
things, of developing Christ-like char
acter, which was interrupted by death.
The difference will be this, that he will
find the conditions more favorable for
such progress and development, and his
soul will rejoice in far greater light and
better influences than in this life.'
sits as much a mistake to set the
standard too high as too low. Its as
great an error to set the gates ajar too
little as it is to take off the hinges and
pull down the walls"
eff any find their faith too weak to
entertain this great thought of saliva
ton, then they ought to cultivate what
they have, and get hold of broader,
frmer faith. If the walls of their souls
are too narrow to take in the mass Of
the human family, then they ought to
widen them out till they can hold all
the hosts that John saw-else how can
they hold God ?"
w.
AS a result of such an enlargement
of view, he emerged a new man, with
brighter cteerfulness in manner and
speech, with more earnest, joyful zeal
for the work of his life, with larger,
broader conception of human destiny,
and with grander idea of the glorious
Being who seemed thus lifted higher in
the heavens of moral existence, the
Father of the human race. And his
preaching took on a new power. His
last sermon before the Wisconsin Con-
ference was an exposition of the fulness
of this new belief as to the character,
teaching, and mission of the Saviour of